I was having breakfast at Warren College, Sydney last November when Claus-Sebastian Wilkens from Institute of Aerospace Systems, Germany asked me if I was aware of ‘geocaches’. Geocaches – what? I expressed my ignorance. He explained that Geocaching is a realworld outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online (www.geocaching.com).

Spectra Precision new ProFlex™ 800 is a powerful GNSS solution with revolutionary Z-Blade™ GNSS-centric technology. It delivers fast and reliable RTK positioning, even in environments where GNSS signals may be difficult to acquire. Rugged and IP67 rated, it is built to withstand harsh operating conditions for a variety of positioning applications.

The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC) and Engineer Research and Development Center recently released the Hydrologic Data Resources Application (HyDRA) – a Web-based data survey and analysis tool created to provide the Dept. of Defense (DoD) logistics and geospatial intelligencerelated water communities with information on water resources data collection, visualization and dissemination in a mobile, enterprise-enabled environment. HyDRA allows users to view, collect and edit unclassified water resources features via Android 2.2+ OS smart devices using Google MapsTM and Google EarthTM applications.

GeoEye has announced a strategic relationship with Geostellar, an innovative technology company that is transforming the solar energy industry to supply Earth imagery, digital surface models and other mapping data to help Geostellar dramatically expand its service. Geostellar has built a breakthrough analytics platform that automatically determines how quickly a given property owner can recoup an investment in solar energy. It has built solar maps in Washington D.C., Boston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey, where government agencies have made aerial imagery freely available.

According to ABI research report, the market for radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders, readers, software and services will generate USD 70.5 billion from 2012 to the end of 2017. The market was boosted by a growth of USD 900 million in 2011 and the market is expected to grow 20 percent YOY per annum. Government, retail, and transportation and logistics have been identified as the most valuable sectors, accounting for 60 percent of accumulated revenue over the next five years.

More than 300 billion rubles ($10.1 billion) have been budgeted to the year 2020 for developing the Glonass satellite navigation system, Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov said recently. He said the government will make every effort to lend support to the satellite system and to develop its capabilities, including commercial ones, Interfax reported. He said Russia estimates that the navigation market in Russia was worth 12 billion rubles last year.

Galileo PRS signal reception Septentrio and QinetiQ, working in close partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and their industrial partners, achieved the world’s first successful reception of the encrypted Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) signal from the first Galileo satellites (launched in November 2011).

June 2012:
Hexagon 2012, 4 -7 June, Las Vegas, USA;
The International Summer School on Mobile Mapping Technology 2012,
11 – 15 June, Tainan, Taiwan, http://conf.ncku.edu.tw/mmt2013/intro01.htm;

It was all about land. At the World Bank’s Land and Poverty conference (April 23- 26, 2012 Washington DC).
Where Access, ownership, reforms and rights. Acquisitions, regulations and legalities. Revenue, corruption,
administration and governance. People, poverty, policies and practices.

Rx for SATNAV obscuration: James L Farrell;
Sharing marine data to improve knowledge and coastal management:César García Aranda, Agustín Molina García;
Comparing Global Geoids:EL Hassan EL BRIRCHI, Pr Driss EL AZZAB;
The Missing Observation: Orthometric Height:Mohamed Eleiche;